It’s Christmas day and where do we find Reist? Running of course. Today’s OTR with Reist is right in the middle of his “speedwork” thanks to his new GoPro camera. If your not familiar with speedwork, 800m repeats, 1/4 mile recoveries, you will be today! Make it a part of your training. It’s hard work but well worth it!

HOW: Now that you’ve watched OTR and learned why we do this type of speedwork, the next question is how. It’s simple.

1) Find a track or fairly level road/path. If it is a road/path map out 1/2mile (800m). Most tracks, this is 2x around the track

2) Warm up run. Open up your workout with an easy run that gets your body ready to work. When your sweating… your ready.

3. Speedwork: Run a brisk pace for the duration of 800m. This is to be your maximum speed that you can manage for an entire 800m. (If your familiar with mile repeats, Mens Health suggests subtracting 10 seconds from that pace.) If this is your first attempt at speedwork, don’t overestimate your ability right away. Get a feel for 800m on the first repeat and then adjust on each one going forward

4. After your first 800m, slow down and jog an easy 400m (1/4 mile or 1x around track) recovery run.

5. Repeat the 800m with 400m recovery a few times your first workout*.

6. Each following time you do speedwork, add one 800m repeat as you can*.

It definitely is hard work but running at your maximum capacity is the best way to improve it. By putting in these repeats, you will be able to run faster with the same effort.

*Want more specific advice on how many 800m Repeats are right for your workout? Email runhardalwaysfinish@gmail.com and let us know!

Questions? Leave them in the comments below! Add thoughts on this here as well.

Where do we find Reist today? Florida! Any of you runHARD faithful in the great Sunshine State, make sure to give Reist a high five if you see him out on the road in his runHARD gear! Check out this OTR video

It’s that time of year when you have to decide whether to go outside and run. Here are a few encouraging words for you before you go. Thanks to all of you who have bought shirts to support our cause (National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer). If you want to check them out. Hit up our runHARD Gear page.

Introducing a new way to connect! Periodically, Reist will share video logs from the road, the trail, or wherever he happens to be. Tune in for a note of encouragement, humor, or whatever might have motivated him to run that last mile.